the agent of this sincere well-wisher. He is the Chief 1837 of a tribe in this country, and I beg that his representations may be credited. VII. Translation of a Copy of a Letter addressed by the Chief of Kandahar, Kohundil Khan, to His Majesty Mahommed Shah. -This Letter was conveyed to Persia by Taj Ma hommed Khan. The representation of this suppliant to heaven. It is represented to the attendants on the presence of his august Majesty, elevated as the heavens, exalted as the Pleiades, radiant as the sun etc. etc. etc. etc.; may God prolong his sovereignty, may my soul be his sacrifice. May I be the sacrifice of the dust of your auspicious feet. My supplication at the Court of the creator of mankind is, that these faithful and most humble of servants should at all times be as the burden of submission, and should on all occasions render obedience to the fatedecreeing firmans of Your Majesty the exalted servants, whose dignity equals sikenders, of your august Majesty, will become informed of the innate fidelity of this truest of subjects. My hope is that the ministres of that haughty government will count this sincere servant among the most devoted of its adherents, and regard him as a suppliant to heaven for the pros perity of this ever-enduring Kingdom, and will exalt him with commands suitable to his condition. At this auspicious time the fate-decreeing firman which was issued from the august court in honor of this humblest of servants, arrived at the happiest of hours, and I have been exalted and rejoiced by its perusal. By the aid of God and from the benevolence of Your Majesty, the shadow of God, I have been exalted by the appreciation which has been given to my services. The Letter expressive of confidence, which Your Majesty, from Kingly magnanimity, had written with your royal hand, for the satisfaction of the mind of this humblest of servants, has been received and I have been exalted by its perusal. On the present occasion 1837 Tai Mohammed Khan, Barukzye, of honorable rank, has been despatched to the dust of the auspicious feet of the slaves of Your Majesty, the shadow of God. Some representations have been confided to the above person, which he will deliver to Your Majesty; and he will recount the details of the defeat and flight of the troops of Herat and the conquest of the districts of Khash and Bakverd. I shall presume to make no farther representations. I offer up prayers for the prosperity of Your Majesty's dominions. 35. Propositions de Paix présentées à (Papers relating to Persia and Affghanistan presented to both houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty 1839). 1 1st Point.. There is to be a cessation of war and of marauding; the capture and sale of prisoners are to be utterly abolished. 2nd Point. →Should the King of Kings intend to undertake a military expedition against Toorkistan, and should he require troops from Shah Kamran, the latter is to supply troops to the extent of his ability, and they shall accompany the Governor of Khorassan on any expedition against Toorkistan. Should troops be required on the frontiers of Azerbijan, Shah Kamran shall furnish them in such number as may at the time be praticable, and shall not withhold them. 3r Point. ➡ A sum of money in the shape of tribute shall be paid annually, at the festival of Noorooz, to the Persian Government. 4th Point. Merchants from every quarter who shall arrive in the territories of Herat and its dependencies, are to receive full protection, and suffer no injury in person or property. 5th Point. One person, who shall be a descen dant of Shah Kamran, and some other persons who 1837 shall be relations of Vizier Yar Mahommed Khan, and of Sheer Mahommed Khan, shall reside for two years at Meshed as hostages. When the period of two years has elapsed, if the Ministers of Herat shall have performed the foregoing engagements, and shall have committed no infraction, the above hostages shall be despatched to Herat, and shall not be detained more than two years. Should any infraction of the above engagements have been committed, the hostages are to be retained until the time of their fulfilment. 6th Point. A Vakeel or Agent from Shah Kamran shall always reside at the Court of the King of Kings. I engage for the performance of the foregoing stipulations on the part of my master Shah Kamran, on condition that the following engagements shall be agreed to. 1st Point. The King of Kings of Persia shall consider Shah Kamran as his brother, and treat him with regard. 2nd Point. The Ministers of the King of Kings of Persia shall not interfere in any manner whatever in the succession of the posterity of Shah Kamran. Whichever of the descendants of Shah Kamran shall succeed him in his government and titles, and shall fulfil the engagements that have been here contracted it is stipulated on the part of the King of Kings of Persia that these engagements shall continue in full force, and shall not undergo any alteration. 3rd Point. Troops are not to be sent into the territories in the possession of Shah Kamran; war and marauding are to cease; and the capture and sale of prisoners are to be entirely abolished. The Government of the King of Kings of Persia is not to interfere in any manner whatever in the internal affairs of the territories in the possession of Shah Kamran; and to enable the Government of Herat to fulfil its engagements, the internal management of these territories is to be entirely under the control of the Government of Herat. 4th Point. The English Government shall be mediators between the Persian and Herat Governments; and if there should be any infraction of these engageNouv. Série. Tom. VI. 0 1837 ments by either party, it shall employ every exertion to obtain their fulfilment. Lettre adressée par l'ambassadeur de la Gran- In respect to the memorandum which I had the honour to send to your Excellency, containing a draft of the terms on which the Envoy from Herat is prepared to conclude an arrangement with the Persian Government, I beg leave to offer a few observations. When I had first the honour of conversing with your Excellency on this subject, I found that your Excellency regarded the mission of this person as intended only to gain time, and the propositions of which he was the bearer, as proferred in a spirit altogether insincere. I ventured then to express my belief that the Government of Herat was sincerely desirous to enter into an arrangement with this Government which should put an end to the evils of plunder, rapine, and the capture and sale of slaves on the frontiers of Khorassan; your Excellency assured me that it was the first and most anxious wish of His Persian Majesty's heart to relieve his subjects from these evils, and you requested me to endeavour to ascertain whether or not the Herat Government was really sincere in the proposals, which its Envoy was instructed to make, and which I find his Excellency the Ausef-ud-Dowleh, vested with full authority on the part of His Persian Majesty's Government, had already accepted. Your Excellency was also pleased to say, that if I could so far satisfy myself of the good faith of the Herat Government in making these propositions, as to feel enabled to assure your Excellency of its sincerity, your Excellency would remain perfectly satisfied with this assurance. Having inquired into the circumstances, and communicated with the Envoy Futteh Mahommed Khan, I found that an arrangement had already been concluded between His Excellency the Ausef-ud-Dowleh, on the part of His Persian Majesty, and the Government of Herat, and that Futteh Mahommed Khan had come to 1837 Tehran only to seek the ratification of that arrangement; but from the hesitation which his Persian Majesty's Ministers exhibited to ratify the engagement concluded by his Excellency the Ausef-ud-Dowleh, and from other causes, the Herat Envoy had begun to doubt the intentions of His Persian Majesty's Government, and had lost much of the confidence in that Government with which he had come to the Capital. I found also that he had been the bearer of letters from Shah Kamran, and from his Minister Yar Mahommed Khan to the Shah-in-Shah of Persia, and to your Excellency; and your Excellency did me the honour to put me in possession of a copy of a letter from Yar Mahommed Khan to his Excellency the Ausef-udDowleh. On inquiring into the contents of these letters it appeared to me that there was a difference in the style and manner in which they were written, and that while Yar Mahommed Khan addressed the Ausefud-Dowleh in terms of great submission and respect, the letters from Shah Kamran to His Majesty the Shahin-Shah, were written in a less humble style and manner. This at first excited my suspicion of the sineerity of the Herat Government, but on further communication with the Envoy I was satisfied that the difference in the style of the letters was not the result of any intention to deceive, aud that the Herat Government was sincerely desirous to conclude an arrangement with this Government, which should relieve both parties. from the evils of the worst kind of war, and by uniting their interests, give strength and stability to Persia, and security to her Eastern Frontier. Your Excellency had assured me on several occasions, and especially in a letter written a few days ago, that the object of His Persian Majesty, in prosecuting military expeditions to the eastward, was the security and relief of His Majesty's subjects and the tranquillity of His Majesty's Eastern Frontier; and when at your Excellency's desire I entered into communication with Futteh Khan, I kept these objects steadily in view. As your Excellency had been pleased to say that you would rest satisfied with my assurance that the Government of Herat was sincere, the first part of my duty was to satisfy myself on this subject. |